


Gotham City Garage (Part 4)

by SteveM



Series: Multiverse Madness [7]
Category: Batwoman (TV 2019), Gotham City Garage (Comics), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:20:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27328684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SteveM/pseuds/SteveM
Summary: After two daring raids the riders of the Gotham City Garage gather to discuss what they found only for their home to be discovered by the forces of Lex Luthor.
Relationships: Alex Danvers/Lena Luthor, Kara Danvers & Kate Kane, Kara Danvers/Kate Kane, Sara Lance/Felicity Smoak
Series: Multiverse Madness [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1931842
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

The mood at the Gotham City Garage was grim as the two teams made their way back home. As each bike came to a halt, dust falling from the wheels as engines faded into silence, their riders stepped off each lost in their own thoughts. Felicity, who’d been nervously waiting at the main door, went around each in turn looking for answers but there was no comfort there. She pieced together what had happened at each site and by the time she reached Sara didn’t bother asking a single question. Instead she reached up and pulled the blonde assassin into a hug.

“You did good.” Felicity whispered and felt Sara tense in her arms.

“Might not think so when I….”

“I heard enough from the others.” Felicity interrupted. “You got what you went for, your team’s alive and you… delivered what mercy you could. No bad there.”

“I killed…”

“No. Lex killed them. The moment those wires went into their brains he killed them.” Felicity said firmly. “I might not have Lena’s knowledge of the ridealong system but I’ve learnt enough to know Kate was right. What Lex was doing… there’s no coming back from that.”

“Thanks.” Sara whispered and pulled back just far enough to kiss their resident mechanical genius. “I needed to hear that.”

On the far side of the workshop Kate and Kara had gone straight to each other and hadn’t broken their embrace for at least five minutes. From their position floating unseen overhead the Earth-Prime versions of their younger selves looked down and tried to figure out exactly which of the two was more freaked out. Kate was clearly feeling the responsibility of her part in destroying the facility and those caught within it while Kara was quietly panicking over being able to move faster than fire. In the end they decided it was a tie just in time for their doppelgängers to finally find words.

“So… that sucked.” Kate said quietly into Kara’s hair. 

“You’re okay?” Kara asked, resisting temptation to instantly start checking her sister over.

“Yeah. Yeah I’m fine… just… that’s the first time I’ve killed anyone. Really don’t like it.” Kate said trying to put a brave face on things.

“From what Alex told me as she headed for the bar you didn’t have much choice.” Kara said softly. “In fact it sounded like the compassionate thing to do.”

“Not sure my brain’s going to see it that way for a long, long time.” Kate sighed and Kara felt Kate cling to her a little tighter.

“What can I do?”

“Once I figure it out I’ll let you know. Talking of, how did your side of this cluster go?”

“It was… “ Kara struggled to find the words and Kate suddenly looked up at her in surprise.

“Oh god, Kara… I’m sorry. So wrapped up in myself I didn’t realise…”

“You’re allowed.” Kara said with a soft smile. “None of this is easy and I’ve got a bit of a head start. This one wasn’t bad… exactly. Maybe ‘odd’ is a better word? I… uh… did something that….” 

“Something… super?” Kate asked with a raised eyebrow that got the laugh she’d intended.

“If you want to put it that way, yes.” Kara giggled. “I, umm, I outran fire.”

“You what now?”

“I ran out of an explosion.”

“Like… survived one? I know you’re tough but…”

“No, I mean outran it. As in the flames looked like they’d slowed down and stopped.”

“Kara… “ Kate fumbled for the right words but what could she say? She took refuge in the familiar. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. It’s just… “ Kara trembled and Kate tightened her grip still further lending what support she could. “What else can I do?” Kara whispered. “I’m… I’m starting to scare myself Kate. No-one should…”

“Hey, hey it’s okay.” Kate said soothingly, running her hands across Kara’s back. “No-one should be able to do that sort of thing, was that what you were going to say?”

Kara nodded and let a small sob escape against Kate’s shoulder. Kate glanced around and spotted a quiet corner between two sets of shelves with a handy crate tucked against the walls. She led Kara over and eased her down to the box, kneeling in front of her to look up into her eyes. 

“I get it Kara, I really do.” Kate said, picking her words carefully. “The idea of that much power in the wrong hands… it’s terrifying.” She reached out and took Kara’s hands in hers, making sure she had her full attention. “But it might just be the only way to fix the world. And I can think of no-one I’d trust to do that more than you.”

A small smile lit up Kara’s face as her tears fell and she nodded her understanding. Kate shuffled a little closer to make sure Kara couldn’t look away from her. “It’s okay, you’re allowed to be scared by this. You’re allowed to be… well, human!” That got the tiniest laugh from her sister and she plowed ahead. “I’ve got your back. And I think everyone here does too. Whatever happens you won’t be facing it alone.”

Kara lifted her hands to wipe the tears from her cheeks but Kate wasn’t ready to let go just yet. Instead she let herself be pulled up until she was sitting on Kara’s lap and helped her brush the dampness away. 

“Thanks.” Kara whispered. “I needed to hear that.”

“It’s just the truth.” Kate said softly. “Something neither of us are used to.”

“We’ll change that.” Kara promised.


	2. Chapter 2

“So this is a good news, bad news situation.” Sara said, her gaze passing from face to face. Everywhere she looked she saw worried, tired friends looking back at her and she knew that wasn’t likely to change after she was done. “Which is why I asked you to meet in the bar.”

There were a few chuckles at that and the clink of a couple of bottles. Sara braced herself and continued.

“We now know more than we ever have about what’s happened in the last couple of decades. We think we’ve got a pretty good idea of what Lex has been working towards, what his endgame might be. But that’s about it for the good news.” 

She glanced at Kara and Kate sitting front and centre at her request. “You all need to see this but it’s not going to be easy viewing. And I’m sorry about that.” She directed the last sentence straight at Kara then nodded to Lena who tapped a key. Behind Sara a screen jumped to life with a fixed feed from a security camera looking down a long, featureless corridor. On the left side of the image was an open door and spilling from it an oddly-disconcerting green light.

From somewhere behind the camera a black shape came into view and Kate stiffened involuntarily. Bruce was far younger but no less massive, the Batsuit intimidating even in such a brightly lit, sterile environment. It took another moment for the young girl at his side to come into frame. Blonde hair, slim build and just about coming up to Bruce’s ribs she looked to be barely into her teens at most. She was clinging to Bruce’s hand and looking around clearly terrified by the odd surroundings.

As they got with a few yards of the door the girl staggered and would have fallen if it hadn’t been for the iron grip on her wrist. She turned and for the first time the watching audience saw her face. Younger, scared out of her mind but it was clearly Kara. Kate slid one arm across her sister’s shoulders as her free hand took Kara’s. On screen the girl was starting to panic, clearly hurting more the closer she got to the light. Bruce kept dragging her forward and she stated to thrash in his grip, twisting and turning to escape the pain.

He took one more step and she cried out, reached up, grabbed his arm and tried to wrench her wrist free. He didn’t let go… and the resulting tug from the young girl sent the Batman hurtling back-first through the corridor wall. Suddenly she found herself free and made to run only for a line of Gardners to come into view at the far end of the corridor. She turned to sprint back the way she’d come and another wall of walking metal entered the shot.

Her hair flew wildly as she looked for another way out but the Gardners closed in with terrible speed. She backed up but the green light lapped at her heels and she screamed as if her flesh was burning. With a look of desperation she threw herself forward to hit one of the machines and her fist burst out of its body, scattering debris across the corridor. 

She stared in wonder for a moment then turned and started to fight for her life! Gardner after Gardner fell, the power in each blow almost beyond belief. Indeed none of the audience watching in silent horror would have believed it if they hadn’t already seen, or at least knew about, Kara. The numbers game was starting to tell though and the girl was being slowly pushed back in a shrinking space centred on the doorway. Without warning the Bat burst from the enormous hole he’d left in the corridor wall and tackled the girl around the waist. His right arm was hanging useless at his side and from the few moments they had to see him blood was streaming from his mouth. But he was twice her size and the momentum of the hit sent both of them tumbling through the open door.

There was a frozen moment as the Gardners crowded to block the exit then a blue wave burst out of the unseen room, hurling the Bat back into the corridor to smash into his metal minions. The door slammed closed, triggered by some unseen observer, and there were a few seconds of white-clad men and women dashing into frame to attend to the crumpled figure in the middle of the destruction before the feed ended.

“You okay?” The unseen Earth-Prime version of Kate whispered to her wife from their vantage point at the back of the room. The anger pulsing from the Kryptonian was palpable and it was clear she was struggling to hold herself in check.

“No.” Kara growled. “Very much not.”

“It’s okay. It’ll be okay. Look, she’s right there, she survived it.” Kate said soothingly, pointing to the woman in the front row.

“I know but how could they! God what if Jeremiah hadn’t protected me from the DEO? Would that have been me?”

“Hey, don’t think like that.” Kate admonished gently. “It didn’t happen. This isn’t our world. And as much as I hate to say it we’re not here to fix things even if this can be fixed. Trust, well, us to do this… okay?” Kate lent over and kissed Kara, ignoring the rest of the universe for a moment. The world could wait if her wife needed her.

“Oh that’s not fair…” Kara complained softly once their lips parted.

“What’s not fair?”

“You *know* the cowl turns me on!”

“Why do you think I haven’t gone full-face covering yet?” Kate grinned. “Besides it looked like you needed the distraction.”

“Yeah, yeah I did.” Kara admitted. “Thanks for that.” She turned back to watch events unfold as Sara started talking but she slid one arm around Batwoman’s shoulders and hugged her close. 

“That was a decade ago.” Sara said grimly, checking that Kara wasn’t traumatised or, worse, sitting there with glowing eyes. “There doesn’t seem to be any record of what happened to that girl after, at least not until she flew from the Garden and ended up here with us.”

Kara glanced around and to her surprise saw nothing but compassion looking back at her from every face. She gave a little nod, not trusting herself to speak but she was sure they understood.

“Whatever Jacob Kane did to hide you Kara he was very, very thorough about it. Didn’t try to make a false paper trail, just deleted everything and used the ridealongs to take any memory of you from anyone that might have known you. Maybe the Bat and Lex knew… but if they did they left you alone. I’d guess the risk of capturing you was too high considering what we’ve just seen. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they genuinely last track of you.”

“So… you don’t know…”

“How long you were there?” Sara said diplomatically having guessed at least part of the reason for the tension between the sisters. “No. Sorry but that seems to be gone forever.”

Kara sighed and nodded again, this time in understanding. Sara paused to catch Kate’s eye and saw the arm around Kara’s shoulders pull a little tighter. Satisfied someone was taking care of the young blonde Sara returned to the matter at hand.

“We don’t know what they did to you but we think we know why…” Behind her another clip started playing, this one clearly taken with a cameraphone. The face that filled the screen was middle aged, maybe in their forties with a neat greying beard and short hair. Small round glasses were perched on their nose and it was clear the man had been crying.

“I don’t have much time. They’re coming for me now, they were always going to one way or the other.” He glanced down, reached off-camera to adjust something that made a metallic clunk against the unseen desk. “Ever since I found out what they’d been doing to her… I hid it as long as I could but they knew I knew. Couldn’t hide it well enough once I…” He paused and wiped more tears away from his cheeks. “Once I saw her. God, is that what we’ve become…”

He shook his head and glanced at something behind the camera. “They’re in the lobby. The box… I tried to destroy the box. Fed it everything the Garden had to give. It laughed at me. HE laughed at me… told me how futile it was, how the world was the way it was because of people like me.” He shook with fear at something only he could see and hear. “I wanted to destroy it, to hide it… but I’m out of time.”

Faintly in the distance the microphone picked up the sound of booted feet running on a hard surface. “I’m sorry. Sorry I failed. I tried and it wasn’t enough. I…” 

The door burst open and the man moved faster than any of those watching would have thought he could. His right hand shot out, grabbed something and twisted. For a moment the barrel of a handgun poked into frame then there was a deafening boom and a fountain of red splashed across the lens. The camera kept rolling until the Bat came into view checking the body for any possible trap.

“Get the box. Prepare to transport it to Cadmus.” He ordered reaching out for the camera. “Get a clean-up crew in….” The film cut off and the dread hanging over the audience was palpable. 

“We found that box was found two days ago in the chest of a cyborg prisoner deep within Cadmus.” Sara said into the silence. “We can barely scan the outside much less what lies beneath but we do know it’s got enough energy stored within it to level most of the Garden. And it got that energy from here…”

The screen flickered and showed a security cam feed from the very top of the dome surrounding Gotham. As they watched every light in the city flickered, dimmed… and went out.

“The great blackout.” Sara said. “This is what that scientist meant. He linked the box to the entire power grid of the Garden to overload it. Not only did it handle the power it stored it and as far as we can tell preserved it perfectly for years.”

“What the hell is it?” Alex asked from somewhere close to the bar.

“We don’t know… exactly. But we know where it came from.” Sara said.

This time the footage was pixelated and choppy, as if filmed on some ancient camera. Once more it was a security camera from a high vantage point, seemingly mounted above a door almost central to an empty meeting room. With no furniture the space seemed to echo as they saw a tall, bald man enter and slide the door closed behind him. He turned and knelt facing the blank wall opposite the camera… and the audience recoiled with a collective gasp.

On the wall a burning Omega symbol had burst into life, its surface made up of thousands of faces distorted in agony. Their screams echoed in the room, surrounding the kneeling Lex Luthor. He shuddered and visibly had to fight to keep his hands on the floor, resisting the desire to block the cursed cries from his ears. The screams seemed to focus, becoming words etched in pain.

“ALL IS DARKSEID. DARKSEID IS ALL. ALL IS DARKSEID. DARKSEID IS ALL. “

The chant rose and seemed to be trying to swallow the world until, suddenly, it cut off to be replaced with a voice so deep it rumbled in the chests of all who heard it.

“Why do you disturb me?”

“Please. I need your power once again. Like before, please.” Lex said into the silence and he was shaking though whether with fear, anger or madness none of those watching could tell. 

“No! I…” Lex protested to an unheard question and shook his head hard enough to cause an audible crack from his neck. “The box is gone! Forget the box! Forget the…” He stiffened as if a switch had been flicked and looked up at the burning symbol.

“No. Yes! I will never for the box. The mother box. Lost like… like the Kryptonian I planned to use against you. My failure is delight to be consumed by great Darkseid.” 

To their shock tears were falling from Lex’s eyes as he grovelled in supplication. “But now I need you to come forward. This planet you burned needs your fire once again. If I can activate the box, tell me that you will come. Tell me that you can bless us with your presence. Tell me you will help me finish what we started. Please… please say yes.”

There was silence then the deep voice spoke again, a single word that sent shivers down the spine of all that heard it.

“Yes.”

Lex looked up, his face locked in wonder at being so blessed. “Darkseid is…” he breathed and the footage cut off abruptly.

“Lena pulled that from the Bat’s own personal data archive.” Sara said quietly. “It was split up and buried in dozens of file fragments, that’s why the quality is so bad. Lex tried to hide this and it’s only through the paranoia of the Bat that we can see it now. We think it was recorded relatively recently, certainly Lex looks just about how he does today so within a year.”

“What was that?” Frost asked, clearly shaken.

“A horror from another world.” Diana’s voice reached out from her customary position to the side of the group and somehow it seemed to ease the tension despite the dire nature of her words. “The ruler of a planet called Apokolips. He came here to conquer long ago and his forces barely defeated by my sisters with the help of many from beyond the stars. But they left behind them what they call a mother box. We were tasked with safeguarding it from all who sought its power and this we did for thousands of years. Until the burn destroyed Themyscira. I had thought it lost… now I believe it sits in this very building. Looted from the wreckage of my home by Lex Luthor.”

Lena took a deep breath and stepped forward. “We… I… think that we now know Lex’s full design. Whether he freely invited this… Darkseid here in the first place or was just a puppet he clearly planned to betray him. Use his power to devastate the planet and leave Lex to rebuild in his image. Both the mother box and… and Kara were weapons in his plan, the leverage to ensure he could free himself from his service.”

“Only now he’s lost them both and Darkseid is clearly still watching him.” Sara said into the brittle silence, stepping forward to place a comforting hand on Lena’s shoulder. “Which is likely to make him desperate. And let’s be clear here… we’ve won a few battles against the Garden recently. But they’ve been hit and run strikes with a couple of unexpected surprises for them to deal with. We’re nowhere near ready to take on the full might of…”

She broke off as an alarm sounded and Lena raced to her console. She looked up and her eyes were suddenly wide. “I left a backdoor in the Garden security network the last time I was there. Watches for any unexpected troop movements… I’d thought it’d help me get in easier next time.”

“And?” Sara asked impatiently. 

“Sara… the Gardners just left. All of them.”

“What?” Sara felt her blood run cold. 

“There’s the biggest troop transport convoy I’ve ever seen. And it’s heading straight for us!”

“How!?”

“I don’t… the box!” Lena broke off horrified. 

“I thought you had it in a null field?”

“I do! But just because they can’t see where it is doesn’t mean they can’t see where it’s been!” Her hands flew over the keyboard and for a few seconds that was the only sound in the bar. Then there was an almost violent curse from the beautiful genius as she slammed a hand down on the keys in frustration. “It’s leaving a residual energy trail behind it. Nothing harmful but it sticks around for days!”

“Not your fault!” Sara said quickly, recognising where Lena was likely heading with this. “Right now we need to figure out what to do. How long until they get here?”

“About a day. It’s a long trip and they’re going slow.”

“Alright. Well that leaves us with two choices.” Sara turned, marched through the crowd and jumped up on the bar, forcing the unseen watchers to move aside so they weren’t standing in her. Kate hopped up on to the metal tube bearing the familiar stylised S only to receive a glare from her wife. Embarrassed she slid back down to stand on Kara’s right, a muttered “sorry” passing between them.

“You all heard what’s coming! The full power of the Garden and it’s looking to wipe us out like a storm in the desert. We either run… or we fight!” Sara started to stalk back and forth along the bar and the unseen trio lifted out of her way. Kara glanced over and saw Oliver staring at the assassin with a very complicated look that she couldn’t quite pick apart but seemed to be built on a foundation of pride.

“Now normally when a storm rolls in the only thing you can do is get out of its way. We all know what happens if you don’t. Bleached bones and broken metal are all that’s left behind.” She slammed a fist into her open palm and looked up, her blue eyes blazing. “But I am tired of running. You saw what Lex has been planning. If we run now then sooner or later he gets it all back and then nothing’s standing between this world and a second purge. We won’t survive that. And if the choice is to run now only to die later or to face what’s coming… then I will stare down that storm with my bike under me, a weapon in my hand and dare it to come and claim me!”

“You forgot something.” Lena’s voice came from the group gathered around the bar. She reached out and let Sara pull her up. “You forgot your sisters standing beside you.”

There was a cheer from the crowd and a chorus of agreement. After a few seconds Sara looked over and spotted the two newcomers hanging back slightly as if worried they didn’t belong.

“And what about you? Where do the Kane sisters stand?” She called.

Kara and Kate looked at each other but it was Kate that answered first. “You’ll trust me with a weapon?”

“Always.” Sara said with a smile despite the circumstances.

“Then I’ll stand with you.”

All eyes turned to Kara who drew a deep breath and looked for Diana. She wasn’t difficult to spot as she towered over most of the women in the bar.

“Someone told me that… that when the time comes there may not be a force on this planet that can stop me. I couldn’t imagine what might cause me to wish for that strength. Until today.” She concentrated and lifted off the ground, floating in the air in front of her sisters, her family. 

“Let the storm come. I’ll show it the true meaning of power.”


	3. Chapter 3

“So you’re telling me the damn thing’s useless?” Sara growled, resisting the urge to kick the glowing box across the room.

“No, it’s likely incredibly useful. But it’s partially organic, it needs a living host to access it. That’s probably why they…” Lena broke off for a second, swallowing hard. “Why they used Vic they way they did. And even with this literally embedded into him they couldn’t get deep enough into it to do more than scratch the surface. Here, in this lab, I can tell you it’s storing enough energy to level the Garden and that this…” she tapped a small indentation in one side “… is the organic interface. Which, by the way, is downright *creepy*. Seems to adapt to any connection to infect the host.”

“Great. So what else have we got?” Alex said from her perch by Lena’s work bench. 

“The shield’s ready to go. It’ll handle… well, pretty much anything. For a while at least.” Lena hedged. “Something I was working on with Lex and made damn sure to take with me. The thought of Gardner’s with shields wasn’t a good one.”

“No kidding.” Sara agreed. “Weapons?”

“Felicity has the bikes ready to roll. Oh and this is for you…” Lena said with a surprisingly shy smile, handing over a case to Kate who’d been watching the conversation with frustration written all over her face. She frowned and popped the latch, opening the top to reveal a black suit with a bright red Bat logo facing her.

“You didn’t…”

“Got the last of the tracking and control programs out an hour ago. It’s yours now, completely yours.”

“Thank you.” Kate whispered, her fingers brushing the symbol. “Bruce told me that this stood for justice… time to prove how right he was.”

“That’ll help.” Alex said with an apologetic glance at Kate. “But we could really do with a few hundred more surprises like that.”

“Sorry, all out.” Lena said grimly. “Not too late to run.”

“No.” Sara said quietly. “No, no more running. We may not be able to win this fight… but we’ll make damn sure they know they’ve been through a war!”

“Plus we do have Kara.” Kate pointed out slightly defensively. “And Diana. They’ll help even the odds.”

Sara glanced at Alex and saw the same doubt in her eyes that Sara knew shone in hers no matter how hard she tried to hide it. “Let’s hope so.” She said with forced optimism. “Talking of which, where are those two?”

“They’re out back. Kara wanted Diana to give her at least a basic idea of how to fight.” Kate said with a shrug. “Something about needing to be a bit more subtle.”

Lena grinned and held her hand up. “Sorry, that one’s my fault.” 

“Don’t be sorry, might end up keeping us alive.” Kate said tightly. “I just…” She paused and shook her head, not looking at the other three women.

“Kate… do you want to talk?” Sara asked quietly. When the younger woman didn’t reply she looked at Lena and Alex. “Uh, can we have the room for a minute, assuming you don’t need it Lena?”

“No problem, I need to go finish up my suit anyway.” Lena replied and headed for the door, Alex trailing in her wake. Once the door clicked shut Sara reached out and gently took Kate’s hand.

“Okay, What’s wrong?”

“I….” Kate tried to find the right words but nothing seemed to come to mind.

“If you’re worried about being embarrassed we could all be dead tomorrow.” Sara said with a teasing smile. “So the feeling won’t last long.”

Kate sighed and sat down on an old, battered office chair. She folded her hands into her lap and suddenly seemed much smaller. 

“It’s Kara… “ She sucked in a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. “Sara… I’ve got no idea if what I can remember about her is real. Did we really grow up together? Did we share a home for years or just a few weeks? Was she really the one who found me when I’d climbed up to the top of our building to stare up at the dome when I thought I’d flunked a test? Did I help clean her up when she face planted the pavement and got that little scar on her forehead?”

Sara paused before replying, trying to get a feel for where Kate could be going with this. She had an idea but… “She’s still your sister though. I mean, you still love her, right?”

“Yes.” Sara was caught completely off guard by how quiet the answer was and suddenly an awful lot made sense.

“Oh. Oh I see…” Sara reached over and wrapped Kate in a hug. “How long?”

Kate sighed and trembled in Sara’s arms. “As long as I can remember. Which… well, who knows?”

“And… uh, how to put this… how do you feel about her as a person?”

“I’d protect her with my life Sara. And I really don’t want to do that because then I don’t get to argue with her into the night, listen to her bursting with enthusiasm over whatever’s caught her attention this week, watch her prove everyone wrong time and time again…”

Sara had to smother a laugh at the speed of Kate’s reply. Now was definitely not the time. “So what you’re saying is… you love her.”

“Yes… just… well, not as…”

“Stop there.” Sara advised. “You’re working from a faulty assumption.”

“Huh?”

“No matter what memories are or aren’t real Kara was still adopted into your family, right?”

“Umm, yes?”

“So if you love her, for whatever reason, it’s because she’s earned it. Don’t get trapped into putting a label and a ton of baggage on that feeling.”

“But…”

“No buts.” Sara sad firmly. “Look, Kate… everything’s different since the burn but we keep clinging to these old-fashioned ideas. Family isn’t blood or birth. It’s who you *choose* to love and care about, the people who you’d sacrifice everything for.” 

She gestured to the building beyond the cramped lab. “This is my family. Has been for years. If it comes to it tomorrow I’ll take a bullet for any of them and go out happy because they’re alive. I want, more than anything, to give them a world that treats them right, that they can rebuild into something better than this.” She paused then grinned. “And I’ve slept with pretty much all of them at this point, recent arrivals excepted. Love is love and we shouldn’t shy away from it without one hell of a good reason, especially now.”

“And if…. If she doesn’t….”

“Feel the same way?” Sara asked gently and got a quick, sharp nod in return. “Then at least you know. Also if that does happen she has standards no-one will ever meet.” That was said with a crooked grin that pulled an embarrassed chuckle from Kate. “First things first: get through the next day alive. After that… well the universe seems to have a habit of providing opportunities for this sort of thing. Watch out for it and grab on when you see it.”

“Good advice.” Kate said drawing a deep breath and standing up. “Uh, just out of curiosity, if it doesn’t go well… uh… would you…. by any chance….”

“If I can invite Felicity along by the end of the night we will both make sure you have no doubt that you’re a stunning beauty that no-one in their right mind would turn down.” Sara promised with a wink. This time she got a proper laugh and pulled into a hug.

“Thanks. I needed to hear that.” Kate admitted. “It’s not easy keeping perspective when your sister can do all these things AND looks that good.”

Sara chuckled and patted Kate’s shoulder as best she could while trapped in the embrace. “Hey, this time tomorrow you’ll be the only Bat in the Freescape, that’s pretty damn impressive! As for the second part…” She dropped the hand down and swatted Kate’s butt. “You more than hold your own in that area as well.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Tell me what you’re thinking.” Diana said in a tone that left no room for argument.

Kara sighed as she circled the Amazonian warrior looking for her opening. “That I’m really, really not ready for this.”

“And?”

“And…” Kara hesitated and Diana struck. She darted forward and wrapped her leg around Kara’s, shoving her backwards towards the ground at speed, one arm across her throat. They thudded into the hard desert floor and Kara groaned. “See what I mean?”

“No. And what?” Diana said, letting go of the blonde and helping her back to her feet.

“And that I’ll let everyone down. That they expect me to even the odds somehow and I’ve got no idea how to do that.”

“So you fear…. What? Death?” Diana asked ducking under Kara’s punch, wrapping her arms around the slim waist and bodily slamming her to the ground, pinning her in place to prove her point.

“No. Not mine, anyway.” Kara said quietly trying to ignore how good the ageless beauty felt on top of her. Now was definitely not the time…

“Ah, the death of your friends? Your family?” Diana once again helped Kara back up and they resumed circling.

“Yes.” Kara whispered the word and Diana chuckled.

“You should. You’re right. You’re not ready.”

“What?”

“You will lead them to death and ruin.”

“Diana….”

“You will see them all fall one by one and they will all, every last one, do so knowing you failed them.”

“Why are you…”

“And knowing Lex he’ll keep Kate alive for last so she can see you broken to the point you can’t even face her.”

“No.”

“Not that it matters, after all everything you feel for her came from Lex’s programming anyway.”

“NO!” Kara blurred on the spot and Diana suddenly found herself grabbed in a grip of steel. Her wrists were above her head and her boots left channels in the dirt as Kara slammed her back twenty feet to crash into a rock wall sticking up from the desolation like an ancient tooth. Diana wrenched her wrists free… or tried to at least. The hands that held her never moved and she suddenly found herself helpless. She tried to bring a foot up to kick Kara away but the blonde dodged the blow effortlessly, letting the leg wrap around her ribs and yanking Diana upwards. 

Diana lost her balance and used the extra upwards momentum from the pull to wrap her other leg around Kara’s waist and squeezed as hard as she could, trying to drive the air out of her captor. One look at Kara’s face told her immediately that it wasn’t working so she drew her head back as far as she could, intending to head-butt the bridge of Kara’s nose.

“Please don’t.” Kara’s words were soft and Diana noticed she was suddenly smiling. “I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“You… you’re back in control?”

“Yes. I wasn’t really out of it to be honest. You just pissed me off enough not to be scared. As you planned of course.”

Diana blushed at being so easily read then blushed much harder at Kara’s next words. “Now if I’d known you’d end up coiled around me like this and at my mercy I’d have done this much sooner.”

“I’ll… remember that for next time.” Diana said a little flustered. “But I still don’t think you’ve been entirely honest with me Kara. What is it you fear in the battle that awaits us?”

“I told you.”

“Part of it, yes. Now, please, tell me the rest.” 

Kara looked down and turned away… which would have worked far better if Diana wasn’t still wrapped around her waist and Kara wasn’t holding Diana’s wrists. 

“Oh.” Kara said as she realised what she’d just done and gave a small, rueful smile. “Alright… if you really want to know.”

“I do.” Diana said softly and Kara suddenly realised that Diana had probably faced a similar situation herself more than once. 

“I… I’m terrified that I’m going to lose control. That I’ll be the one that kills them.” She looked up and there were tears in her eyes. “Diana… what I can do… no-one should have that power. And I keep finding new things, new ways of breaking the world. What if what you said… happens and I really do lose control?”

Diana gave her a critical look and Kara swallowed hard. The Amazon was a formidable presence at the best of times, this close and in what was, when Kara got right down to it, such an intimate position she was almost overwhelming. 

“You won’t.” Diana said simply and finally let her legs relax, sliding down off Kara’s hips and pretending not to hear the slightly disappointed groan. 

“But how do you know?” Kara insisted and to her surprise Diana chuckled.

“I have spent too many years as a warrior Kara. Fighting across this world both pre-burn and in the Freescape. I’ve seen the truly evil up close. I’ve battled those who wished only to inflict pain and others who fought because they had no choice. I’ve seen cruelty, compassion, honour and betrayal. I’ve seen bravery and cowardice in equal measure. And occasionally, very rarely, I have been privileged to see the pure at heart.”

She reached out and tapped Kara’s chest. “You are one of them, Kara Kane. Within you beats something unique that goes far beyond physical strength or abilities.” She paused then pointed at Kara’s jacket hung up by the back door to the GCG. “When you first came here you painted that symbol. You chose it above everything else. Why?”

“I… I’m not sure.” Kara said slowly. “Something… when I saw it in the bar there was something familiar about it. And when I touched it… well, I heard or, or maybe felt a word in my head.”

“And that word was…?”

“Hope.”

Diana smiled and shook her head. “And you wonder if you have heart enough to see this through?”

“Umm…”

“Every piece of my armour and weaponry carry meaning, Kara. All are remnants of my home, of the mission we failed in and that I have taken on. They are steeped in thousands of years of history and war and what we sometimes think of as wisdom. Yet none carry as powerful a message as the one you chose for yourself. Stay true to that and you will find your path through this.”

“Thank you.” Kara whispered, suddenly moved to tears. For a moment she had a mad urge to dash to the bar and prise open the… whatever it was hanging there. Find out its secrets, why it had seemingly talked to her. But such things would have to wait now so she settled for hugging Diana tightly and, just because she could, lifting her slightly off the ground.

“Anytime.” Diana said with a chuckle. “Come on, we need to help our sisters prepare for the battle that’s to come and you will need to rest if you can.”

“How do you sleep before a battle?” Kara asked as they turned towards the GCG.

“Badly.” Diana admitted.


	5. Chapter 5

“What are you doing here?” Alex demanded as she stormed into Lena’s lab.

“I work here?” Lena replied in confusion.

“No, I mean why are you here, at the GCG?”

“I… live here?” Lena said, clearly completely lost. Alex sighed and pointed at a screen that showed the slow but inevitable progress of the Garden towards their formerly hidden sanctuary. 

“Do you see that?”

“Yes….?”

“Do you know what that is?”

“An army the likes of which this world hasn’t seen since the burn?”

“No! Well… alright, yes.” Alex conceded with a shrug. “That’s actually pretty accurate. But what else is it?”

“Alex, it’s late, I’m tired and I’m really not following you here.” Lena pointed out and Alex huffed an annoyed breath, coming around the desk to take Lena’s hand. She pointed it at the mass of transports rolling across the Freescape.

“That is an army made up of every Gardner Lex can get his hands on. Which means….” Alex moved Lena’s hand so she was pointing at the dome covering Gotham. “That the Garden itself is wide open.”

She felt Lena tense and wondered if the raven-haired genius was about to protest or, worse, point out something obvious Alex had overlooked. Instead she sighed and said, very quietly, “I know.”

“So why are you still here, with us?” Alex demanded. “This might be your only chance…”

“Because I should fight!” Lena shot back, her cheeks flushing. “This is where I belong, defending my home!”

“Lena…” Alex turned the other woman around and stepped forward to hug her from behind, her arms wrapped around her sides and clasped in front of her flat stomach. “This is always going to be your home. And trust me, I get wanting to fight for it, I really do. And we’ve probably got a better chance if you’re here. But if you are we might win the battle but lose the war…”

She let her lips fall to the curve of Lena’s neck and kissed her gently. “What happens here, tomorrow… or today now, I guess. Either way what happens here doesn’t change the world. What happens there can. And it’s where you need to be.”

“But I won’t… I don’t know if…”

“It’ll work Lena. You know it will.” Alex said with complete confidence. “You’ve been ready for at least a year, you just needed a window. Well there it is…”

Alex felt Lena shivering in her arms and pulled her even closer, her hands dropping down below Lena’s waist to rest on the tops of her thighs. “It sucks, I know it does, but it’s what has to be done.”

“I… I….” Lena took a big shuddering breath and nodded, her hair tickling Alex’s nose. “I know. But I don’t want to go.”

Alex chuckled and let her lips work at the curve of Lena’s neck. “Wonder why…”

“Well yes that… ohhhh…. But I rrrrrrrealy do want to fighhhhhht.”

“I know. And you can. But fight your way Lena. Don’t get sucked into someone else’s game, you’re better than that. You always have been.” Alex said letting her fingertips glide from one hip to the other until Lena was swaying in time with her movements. 

“Alright.” Lena sighed, defeated. “Alright I’ll go. On one condition.”

“What can that possibly be?” Alex said smugly. Sure enough Lena spun around to wrap her arms around Alex’s neck and pull her into a deep kiss. It went on for longer than Alex had expected, not that she was complaining. 

“Fuck me three times tonight.” Lena demanded though she couldn’t keep it from sounding awfully similar to begging.

“Three? Greedy!”

“No, just scared.”

“And how would you like to be fucked?” Alex asked as she let her fingers flutter over the curve of Lena’s ass.

“Simple. First I want you to dominate me.”

“Sounds fair.” Alex said, suddenly finding her mouth dry.

“Second, I want to dominate you.”

“The sacrifices I make…”

“And third… I want to love you. Just… a nice gentle, tender fuck, maybe… maybe even some cuddling afterwards.”

“Lena! I’m shocked!” Alex said with a wicked smile. “You? Cuddle?”

“I told you, I’m scared.” Lena admitted. “We could all be dead this time tomorrow… I want to know if this love thing is all it’s made out to be.”

“Then how can I refuse?” Alex said and after a second or two for Lena to look away in embarrassment Alex reached forward and wrapped her right hand in Lena’s long, thick hair. Pulling ever so slightly she held Lena in position then lent forward and growled: “And as you wanted to be dominated you really need to be on your knees now.”

Lena hurried to obey and Alex took her time, drinking in the sight of this beautiful, extraordinary woman though Alex’s heart ached through every second of the night. They’d ducked the question she knew but the fact was the chances of either of them surviving what was coming, let alone both, was almost none. She suspected Lena knew that as well which lent an extra urgency to their actions as they put all other cares away to focus on bringing a little light into their rapidly darkening worlds…


	6. Chapter 6

There was a roar of engine noise and dirt as Frost practically slid her bike to a stop in the main workshop and jumped off to speak to the assembled riders. She looked shaken which was more concerning to Sara than anything else that had happened so far. Frost was about as unflappable as they came and seeing her like this was unnerving. Still she was nothing if not professional and started rattling off what she’d seen on her high-speed scouting run.

“A main force here.” She pointed to a spot far too close to the GCG for comfort. “Couple of dozen transports, maybe more.”

“A couple of…” Alex started but Sara held her hand up for silence. Alex nodded and settled back as best she could while the rest of the bad news rolled in. 

“Secondary force a little behind and to the west. The Bat’s leading that one.”

“You’re sure?” Sara asked and got an annoyed look as Frost reached over her shoulder and with a gasp of pain pulled something from her back.

“I’m sure.” She threw the bloody Batarang on the table and they all stared for a moment in horror. Without a word Kate picked up a medkit and stepped behind Frost, cleaning the wound as best she could while the briefing continued.

“One last transport here.” She pointed with her left hand so as not to interrupt Kate’s efforts at a point maybe five miles behind the group. “Bigger than the others and looks like it’s built to withstand the end of the world.”

“That’s Lex.” Diana said quietly. “He knows he has to get this box back so he’ll come himself. But he won’t be anywhere near the front line.”

“Anything else?” Sara asked grimly and Frost gave a mirthless laugh.

“Only that maybe running was the smart choice.”

“How do you run from that?” Sara asked casually. “I’d rather face them here, on our own ground, than out in the desert somewhere.”

“Talking of which the energy shield is working.” Felicity put in. “It won’t last too long but while it’s up they’re not getting in here. Lena really came through with that.”

“Which reminds me, anyone seen her?” Sara asked and Alex nodded.

“Yes. And she’s where she needs to be.”

Sara glanced over then sighed as understanding dawned. “Alright. So it’s me, Alex, Frost, Kara, Kate and Diana against… what, a few thousand Gardners?”

“Hey, don’t forget me.” Felicity chided the assassin. “If you think I’ve been working on that trike for this long just to sit on the sidelines you’ve officially lost the plot.”

Sara looked like she was going to argue then smiled softly and laughed under her breath. “Fair enough.” She looked around the room. “I’m not going to lie… this might not be a fight we can win. Anyone wants to change their mind now’s the time.”

There was dead silence then Kara stepped forward. “We’re with you Sara and win or lose we’ll make them sorry they ever left the Garden.”

Sara glanced at every face and saw the same determination looking back at her. “Okay… let’s assume that Lex is going with his usual show of force approach. They’ll probably deploy here.” She highlighted a large area of flat, solid ground a mile from the Garage. “It gives them a bit of a walk but Gardners won’t care about that and Lex will damn near cream himself thinking of us helpless girls cowering while his army marches up to us.”

“Ewww.” Kara put in and there was a chuckle from Alex who nodded her agreement with the sentiment. 

“So we’ll let them get to here…” Sara pointed to a spot where the open approach to the GCG narrowed down thanks to ten foot tall rocky outcroppings that jutted up from the desert floor. “.. and hit them straight on. Kara, Diana, you’re up first… not only are you our most powerful strikers you can also shrug off the Gardners attacks.”

“Most of them…” Kate muttered under her breath but only Frost heard her as the brunette finished sewing closed the wound on her back.

“Drive a wedge through them and we’ll follow in behind. Get in amongst them and cause chaos. Don’t stay too long though, punch out and regroup at lookout point. After that Alex and Kate, go looking for the Bat. We don’t want him flanking us.”

“But..” Kara started but again Sara held up a hand asking for silence.

“I know Kara, I’d rather send you to deal with him. But Kate’s beaten him on her own before - more or less - and Alex can back her up. We need you here to deal with… all of that.” She pointed to the massed ranks of transporters and Kara was forced to agree. 

“Okay, let’s go through this in a bit more detail, see if we can’t figure out a few more tricks to keep us all in one piece.” Sara said, beckoning everyone in. As they moved closer no-one noticed Alex slipping out and making her way silently through the building to Lena’s lab. She tapped in Lena’s personal override code that she was really not supposed to know and stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. The faint glow of the box lit the room and Alex reached over to the sterile surgical tools Lena always kept on standby in case Alex got hurt on a mission.

“Alright… let’s see if she was right.” Alex whispered, gritting her teeth as she made a small incision on her forearm and dug out the control cable that she’d seen Lena use to access her cybernetics on a dozen different occasions. She crossed to the box and it’s interface port seemed to beckon her closer, welcoming her home…

The world spun and Kate realised she’d been holding her breath. Next to her Kara’s hand had wrapped around her wife’s and was squeezing hard enough to hurt. Which, in and of itself, was testament to just how worried Kara was, she’d never normally let herself get so lost in the moment. As the scene changed to the desert floor Kara looked at Oliver in shock but before she could say anything sound rolled over them and they turned to see several dozen enormous boxes on wheels come to a halt right where Sara had thought they would. 

The boxes cracked open halfway up, the bottom section folding down like a ramp while the top raised itself into the sky. A complicated racking system extended, planting row after row of Gardners on the ground, deploying what looked like a few hundred robots from each truck. Within a minute a fully-formed army stood ready to march as the transports folded back up, their jobs done until it was time to transport what remains home after the conquest.

A crackling white dome surrounded the GCG and the ground a hundred metres in front of it. The small line of bikes standing on that ground seemed terrifyingly inconsequential compared to the power that was now marching towards them. Kara took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves and felt a hand land on her shoulder. She looked to her left and saw Kate smiling at her. Kara reached up and squeezed the hand gratefully.

“Looking good.” She said just loud enough to be heard above the engines and she meant it.

“Lena did a hell of a job.” Kate agreed glancing down at the refurbished Batsuit. The dark grey had been replaced with jet black that, somehow, didn’t seem to be getting warm even in the ferocious heat of the Freescape sun. The logo on her chest was a brilliant metallic red as were the boots and gauntlets. In a particularly nice touch Lena had even changed the eyes to the same blazing red and changed their shape slightly to give the cowl a more aggressive look. It was an aesthetic choice neither Kane would have guess Lena would consider but once again she’d surprised them. 

Kara glanced along the line and saw the people she’d quickly come to think of as family going through their own private thoughts at the impending battle. To her surprise the most composed seemed to be Felicity who’d undersold the ‘trike’ she’d been working on. It was less wheeled transport than armoured exoskeleton, rolling on massive tank treads and equipped with more firepower than Kara had known the GCG owned. 

“Hey…” Kate said and Kara immediately switched her attention back to the only piece of her life she recognised from more than about a month ago. “When we get back from this… can we talk about something?”

“Of course!” Kara said and she felt a nervous but oddly excited fluttering in her stomach. That was strange… but there’d be time to work it out later. “Hell of a time to ask though!”

“I know.” Kate laughed nervously. “But I kinda wanted to commit to that conversation now. It’s nothing bad, promise!” She said as if the thought had only just struck her. “Just… we’ll talk later, okay?”

“Okay. Love you.” Kara said softly.

“Love you too.” Kate replied, reluctantly letting go.

“Alright, look alive, just about in position!” Sara called. Kara reached for her throttle… and stopped dead as the howl of an engine at full throttle burst across the landscape. 

From the right they saw a bike racing full speed right next to one of the rocky ridges, using the terrain as cover from the army. The figure on it was crouched over the handlebars in a quest for every last fraction of speed and Sara felt her blood run cold as she saw the gleaming box nestled in the fender, a cable running up to the rider’s arm.

“Alex… NO!” Sara called over the comm. Kara made to move, to race out and stop the older woman but Diana snagged her and shook her head sadly. 

“Sorry Sara but this has to be done.” Alex’s voice came back and there was an odd peace to it. “Win or lose we both know this is all for nothing if that… thing comes back. Doesn’t matter if it’s us or Lex, we can’t survive another Burn. We can’t survive Darkseid. And there’s only one way to stop that!”

“Alex…” Felicity went to protest then stopped herself. Alex was almost to the gap now and the lead Gardners were starting to turn so their weapons would be pointed at whatever the unseen threat was as soon as they cleared the rock.

“Listen… I’ve done some shady things. My hands are pretty damn far from clean and I’ve lived a lot of lives over the years. But I want you all to know… my life with the Gotham City Garage… with you… that was when I was at my best.”

The box was pulsing with power now and the riders watched, horrified, as Alex sent the bike skittering up the rock wall, somehow keeping it under control to race along the very top of the ridge. She clicked a switch and suddenly her voice was on every channel, heard by everyone whether GCG, Gardner, Bat or Lex himself.

“My name’s Alex Danvers and this world will live free!”

The bike cleared the rock outcrop, a bird taking flight. For a moment it soared above the mass ranks of the Gardners, suspended in mid-air.

The explosion shook the earth and burst out in a blinding flash of light so intense not even Kara could look at it. It ripped apart everything in its path, leaving nothing behind but ash as it blew outwards in a perfect sphere. It met the shield over the GCG and raced upwards, energy crackling and arcing as the barrier struggled to contain it. It was clearly a one-sided fight but thankfully for the riders it was also a brief one. The blast wave faded and a moment later there was one final crackle and the shield failed leaving the riders staring at what had moments before been a pending battlefield.

Now it was just a junkyard. The few Gardners that hadn’t been vaporised lay scattered in pieces around the edges, the rock and sand melted to glass by the force of the explosion. The devastation was total and there wasn’t a single sign of the strange alien box that had caused the blast.

“Alex…” Kara whispered. “She… she must have…”

“She didn’t.” Diana said sadly from beside her. Unlike the young Kryptonian she’d seen enough battles in her time to recognise death when it came calling.

“Lex’s entire force. Destroyed. One Shot.” Sara whispered under her breath, eyes wet with tears. “Hell yes, Alex. Hell yes!”

“We’re not done yet.” To everyone’s surprise it was Kate’s voice that cut through the moment. They could hear the pain and loss in her words but she was already focused on the task at hand. “There’s still Bruce. And Lex.”

“She’s right.” Felicity confirmed checking a display. “Lex’s transport is moving in and I’m picking up movement on the seismic sensors behind the Garage.”

“Okay… same plan!” Sara called. “Frost, go with Kate.” The rest of you with me, we’re going after Lex!”


	7. Chapter 7

Kate and Frost turned their bikes, gunning them back towards the now undefended GCG. They intended to sweep around to the south and catch the Bat’s squad as they came in but the crash from the other end of the building told them it was too late for that. Suddenly a squad of Gardners opened up from the north and Kate glanced over, doing some quick calculations.

“That’s all of his personal squad!” She shouted to Frost. “Bruce must be inside.” Kate hesitated for a moment then motioned towards the incoming fire. “Can you take them?”

Frost casually tossed an EMP grenade and four of the metal monsters dropped to the desert as so much scrap. “Yeah, I got ‘em.”

“Right, Bruce is mine!” Kate said grimly and fired her bike as close as she dared to the side of the building. She crouched low in the saddle, her eyes fixed on the cowl’s display waiting for the threat warning.

There! As she drew alongside a large window in one of the back offices the glass shattered and an arm shot out at neck height. She’d been expecting it though and there’d been just enough time to react. She kicked the bike, hard, on the left side causing it to fall to the right. As it dipped under the outstretched arm she reached up, caught hold of the wrist and flicked herself up and around, her momentum transforming her into a bullet as she crashed feet first through what was left of the glass and caught Bruce a glancing blow in the head.

Kate bounced off and rolled clear, dodging behind a long workbench full of old tins and sprays. This clearly wasn’t one of the more often used spaces and there was more debris on the floor than she was expecting. Bruce grunted as he turned to face her, taking in the suit and the new paint scheme.

“One chance. You can still come back to the Garden Kate. It’s not too late.” Bruce said stiffly.

“After you murdered my dad? No thanks.” Kate said as she kept her attention locked on the hulking figure in front of her.

“You wouldn’t need to remember that pain. Lex can set you free, Kate. Lex loves you.”

Kate froze for a second then laughed and it clearly wasn’t the response Bruce was looking for. “Couple of things Bruce. One, Lex has never offered anything but pain and servitude. Two, I met a better class of Luthor out here. Lena found and disabled all the command and control interrupts for this suit. Voice overrides don’t work anymore. You want to take me down… I’m right here. And unlike my father I’m not chained and helpless. Want to kill another Kane?” She taunted, easing into a defensive stance. “You’re going to have to work for it.”

Bruce glared for a moment and Kate saw a threat warning ping inside the cowl though this one was for an electronic attack. Bruce was using his suit to try and interface with hers… and finding that route, too, was closed off.

“I did tell you.” Kate said after a couple of seconds. “Now what are you waiting for? I’m right here…”

Batman stared for a moment then his hand moved with surprising speed for such a big man. He tossed three Batarangs at Kate, their gleaming edges moving with deadly purpose. As fast as he was though she was faster, her gauntlets coming up and deflecting all three with relative ease. She caught the last one between finger and thumb, flicked her wrist and sent it hurtling back at him. He tried to duplicate the move but was a moment too late and the blade cut a thin line through the armour of his suit. 

Now he had a distinctly surprised air about him and his hand dipped into his belt. He brought it out… and flicked a small, round device on to the table between them. Kate just had time to recognise it as a flash bang and turn her head before it burst into a blinding light, a deafening roar… and a burst of heat. Heat that caught the nearest tins and ignited the ancient paint within them. The fire spread in a heartbeat and before the glare and echo had faded the entire workbench was ablaze. 

Through the fire Bruce launched himself at Batwoman, his arms grabbing her around the waist and hurling her through the flimsy wall behind her to crash into the main bar area of the building. She’d learnt from their last encounter though and had lifted her arms out of the way, letting the suit take the impact and leaving her free to grasp a bar stool and bring it crashing down onto Bruce’s head. 

He let go to defend against any follow up attack but, again, she surprised him. She sprung away and rolled behind the bar, scrambling behind it to pop out at the far end of the room. She fired a grapple up into the ceiling and shot into the darkness. Not that she could stay there she knew, Bruce had the best night vision money could buy built into his cowl so hiding wasn’t an option. Fortunately she had no intention of doing so. 

She whipped around the beam she’d grappled to and fell, feet first, towards Bruce as he tried to track her movement. He was a fraction of a second too late and as he brought his hands up to catch her and break her ankle the sole of her boot smashed into the forehead of his cowl. As she tumbled past she managed to snag his outstretched right arm, pivot and plant her left foot in his armpit. She locked off the wrist and just before she hit the ground heard a muffled crunch as she tore his shoulder from its socket. 

Kate was horribly aware that to stay still was to invite death so she let go and backflipped out of the way of a powerful foot stomp that cracked the floor of the bar. She heard the crackle of flames and caught a glimpse of fire eating its way through the wall separating the bar from the workshop. The whole place was going to go up, she had to get out!

No… no wait, Kate realised with a private smile. Maybe this was what she needed. As much as fighting in a burning building sounded like an awful idea at least it was bad for both of them. And when it came to dodging falling debris, not to mention the fire itself, her agility may just give her the edge. She took a deep breath and threw a full salvo of Batarangs. The four razor-sharp weapons flew straight and true but not at Bruce. Instead they scythed through most of the displayed bottles behind the bar, slicing the glass apart and letting their contents splash merrily over the less rare or valuable stuff stacked below. She saw the flames advancing and the river of alcohol flooding out to meet it. They touched and with a *woomph* the entire bar was instantly ablaze.

Every fibre of her being wanted to dive away from the flames, whether to attack or run didn’t really matter but she held her nerve. The heat licked at her back but the suit could handle it, keep the worst of it away long enough to get Bruce guessing. As the flames caught a previously untouched cache of something explosive at the other end of the bar she took advantage of the distraction. In one adrenaline-fuelled leap she was on top of the bar then jumping up, twisting in the air to send a Batarang at Bruce’s throat. She’d caught him by surprise, half-turned towards the explosion but even so he somehow got a hand up and the razor-sharp metal bit into the flesh of his forearm. 

Kate braced as she saw the ground rushing up towards her and the moment her feet were planted shoved off again, this time flipping sideways to try and throw him off. A hand brushed past her shoulder but didn’t quite manage to grab hold and she managed to bring her legs up and around, kicking out to slam the Batarang deeper into his arm. Tumbling backwards she rolled and dove to the right, finding a piece of floor that wasn’t yet burning while trying to keep her attention locked on Bruce.

He was already in motion, running forward through the flames, his hands outstretched for her throat. His suit burned but he didn’t seem to care, his only thought reaching the woman that dared threaten him and the Garden. Kate braced herself and turned her right arm to angle the metal edges of her wrist guards up and out. He crashed into her like a freight train and she felt his suit split open across his chest where she’d cut it even as the air rushed from her lungs with the impact.

His arms wrapped around her and she found herself picked off her feet and carried back, cracking through several flaming wood suspension beams as they went. Something in her side popped and she hissed in pain. Suddenly he stopped dead, planting his feet and popping his hips, throwing her over his head to crash down on her neck and shoulders into the burning floor. Flames licked at the edges of her cowl, close enough to be seen through the lenses as he spun to mount her, huge hammer-like fists slamming down towards her head and chest.

She blocked as best she could, scrambling for something to brace off. To her left there was a crash and she saw the metal relic that used to hang above the bar hit the ground. It started to roll a little and the stylised S that Kara wore on her jacket stared at Kate though the inferno. A fist made it past her defence and slammed into her gut then raced upwards to lock around her throat. The other hand followed, this one smashing into the side of her head before starting to choke the life out of her.

“You could have had it all Kate.” Bruce’s voice seemed to mix with the crackle of the flames as she tried to find something, anything to help her break his grip. “My legacy would have been yours and you could have guided the human race back to greatness. Instead you’ll die here with nothing and no-one to remember you. You’ll just be a whisper of what happens to the suspicious and cowardly when they step out of line. Just like your father.”

Kate couldn’t breathe, the world was going black… and her left foot suddenly found itself planted against something solid. She didn’t hesitate and threw everything she had left into pushing off that unexpected surface. Her hip bucked upwards and Bruce was caught off-guard. He lifted with her and now her right foot was able to aid the left, helping push him off her. Just for a moment he was flying above her and she brought her knees up, planting them against the inside of his thigh and rolling him over, landing with his back on the ground as the fire reached for him.

She ignored the hands still wrapped around her throat and grabbed the jagged metal stuck in his forearm. With desperate strength she yanked it free and not even Bruce Wayne could ignore the slash of pain. His fingers went slack and she wrenched her neck back, gasping in a desperate breath of the hot, smoke filled air as she flicked the Batarang around to sit in her hand like a knife and drove it straight down. Past his broken grip, through the thin gaps she’d carved in his suit and straight into his heart. 

He gasped and his body went slack, hands twitching on the ground. She scrambled back to her feet and stood over him panting. 

“Kate…” The word was barely audible over the roar of flames as he reached for her though whether pleading or threatening she couldn’t tell. She slapped a hand to her neck, retracting the cowl and ignoring the immediate pain of the heat and smoke. For this she wanted him to see her face…

“For what it’s worth Bruce…” She said coldly, staring down at the Batman as he lay broken at her feet. “… I’m glad I only have to kill one fascist today.” She slammed her right boot down onto the Batarang and drove it the rest of the way into his body. She heard the final shocked gasp and he slumped onto his pyre as the life drained from his body.

Kate turned, looking for a way out, and to her shock saw what had given her the boost she’d needed. The metal… thing that had been above the bar, the one with Kara’s symbol, had moved just close enough to save her life. For a heartbeat she wondered about trying to save it from the inferno then there was a crack from above her and the ceiling groaned as something structural collapsed in ash and ruin. 

She tapped the control points to get the cowl back in place, took a quick look around for the shortest route between her and the exit, lowered her head and charged. She burst through the wall between the bar and workshop, dodged around several pillars of fire she assumed were once either tools or bikes, ducked as a fireball shot overhead and dove full length through the wide window. Glass shattered around her and she hit the wonderfully cool floor of the desert. As she tried to clamber back to her feet she heard an engine howl and turned just in time for Frost to snag her round the waist and flip her up onto the saddle in front of Frost.

“Hang on!” Frost yelled, ignoring the scorching heat boiling from the suit. She raced away from the blaze and sent the bike scrambling over a low dune. They crested it and slithered down the other side just in time as one final explosion behind them ripped the area around the GCG apart.


	8. Chapter 8

Sara, Diana, Felicity and Kara tore across the Freescape, the dust behind them like a wake on a long-lost ocean as they arrowed towards their target. They were still two miles out when they saw it lurking on rocky ground, a giant slab of metal thick enough to put the walls of the Garden to shame and bristling with weapon turrets. A withering hail of energy weapons reached out to greet the riders but the bikes were too small and too nimble, dancing through the downpour of iridescent death with seemingly no effort.

“Can you do anything about those guns?” Sara said into her comlink. 

“Probably, if you can distract them for a minute or two.” Felicity said calmly, flicking the trike over to an automated avoidance pattern while she got to work in the relative safety of the armoured cabin.

“Great.” Sara muttered. “Okay you two, you heard the lady!”

Diana and Kara crossed over the trail of dust flying from Sara’s back wheel and dove out in a wide but tightening circle, one either side as they closed in on the mobile fortress. The turrets stuttered for a moment as they tried to adjust to the rapidly changing targets then split their fire, tracking the three bikes attacking it while only lobbing the occasional shot at Felicity as she kept her distance.

“Woah.” Kara yelped with alarm as one turret seemed to be a bit smarter than the others and targeted the ground just in front of her bike. The sand boiled and turned instantly to glass by the immense heat and she felt the bike skitter under her as she forced it to stay upright. The random movements helped her avoid a follow-up salvo from the same turret that had apparently been expecting the loss of control but assumed she’d ride in a straight line trying to recover. Whoever was operating it clearly hadn’t been aware of Kara’s strength and speed.

On the other side Diana was dodging her way through fountains of gravel and molten rock as shots like concussion grenades slammed down all around her. Occasionally one was on target and she had to bat it away with her shield but for now at least her luck held. She glanced back and saw Sara tuck in a little way behind her and slotting neatly between her path and the fortress. She grinned as she saw the turrets wave back and forth, suddenly unsure which target to prioritise. 

They burst out from behind the fortress almost as one, fanning out in wide arcs to make sure one lucky shot didn’t get them all. As they started to circle back their comm crackled.

“Alright… stay clear!” Felicity ordered and Sara glanced up to see the trike start its own attack run, tank treads tearing up the desert as it took advantage of the hole in coverage caused by the turrets all tracking the first wave of attackers. As she got within a couple of hundred yards covers popped open on the top and sides of the cockpit and short, stubby barrels gleamed in the newly-uncovered holes. 

There was a series of pops and an odd purple canister was launched from each gun. They fired up in precisely calculated ballistic arcs that had them crashing down on the top and sides of the fortress. Their contents burst and started to cover the metal and, more importantly, the array of weaponry currently giving trying to kill her and her sisters. For a moment nothing seemed to happen then the first guns fell silent, smoke rising from their housings. The rest quickly followed suit as the purple gunk oozed its way down towards the floor.

“What the hell did you do?” Sara called and she heard Felicity laugh.

“Corrosive mix designed specifically to destroy Gardners. I thought we’d need it against the main force to at least even the odds a little but turns out that thing uses most of the same alloys, at least for the weapons.” She sobered a little and continued apologetically. “Hull’s something different though, I can’t get through that, sorry.”

“Leave that to me.” Kara said as they finished their sweeps and headed back towards the smoking monster. 

“Do I dare ask…?” Sara said with a certain resigned air about her.

“I’m just going to knock…” Kara replied.

Before she could follow through on her plan the walls of the beast shivered and started to crack open. Much like the transports the bottom half hinged downwards like a ramp while the top folded up. Unlike them however there was no fancy deployment mechanism for hundreds of Gardners. Instead a small force were attached to the *inside* of the panels and rolled upright to bring their guns to bear on the approaching threat. 

Not that they were the biggest concern for the riders of the GCG. No, that was very firmly the immense two legged purple and green mechanised walker that had been revealed in the heart of the transport. It was enormous, bigger even than the guardian that had chased Diana, Lena and Kara from Cadmus. Massive metal arms were connected to the squat body and multiple weapon systems were obvious everywhere they looked. The legs were thick and wide, clearly designed to make the vehicle as agile as possible while making sure knocking it over would be almost impossible.

The central pod seemed, if anything, even thicker than the walls of the transport and there, in the centre of the beast, was a single access hatch. None of them had the slightest doubt that tucked away behind that hatch, as safe as he could possibly be under the circumstances, was Lex Luthor. Come to ensure the final victory over the terrorists that dared threaten the safety of his subjects he suddenly found himself facing a fight he had not expected. Beneath the hatch was the only decoration on the mechanised monster, a purple Omega symbol etched into the metal.

“Diana, Kara, on Lex!” Sara ordered. “Felicity and I will handle the Gardners.”

The bikes split into pairs with several small automated turrets on Felicity’s trike sliding out and focusing on one Gardners after the other. Sara had a compact submachine gun in her left hand taking out anything Felicity missed while her right worked the throttle, dancing the chrome bike around the Gardners so close she could hear the whirring of their motors as they moved.

Kara and Diana came at Lex from opposite directions, but before they could strike the giant mech moved with impossible speed to slam its right hand, palm down, into the ground. The earth itself shook as a pulse of energy spat from the mech and all four GCG riders suddenly found their bikes uncontrollable as the rock, dirt and sand rolled like they were in the middle of a gale in the ocean. Not even Kara’s superhuman reflexes were enough to stay upright and she smashed to the ground alongside Diana.

“Kara, go get them!” Diana shouted, pointing to the other two crashed bikes that were rapidly being surrounded by what remained of the Gardners. She pulled her sword from its sheath and bounded back to her feet, charging Lex’s mech with a war cry that seemed to be pulled straight from the pages of myth and legend. Kara almost went with her then looked again at her friends… and started to run towards them. 

For a moment she felt the world pulling her back. The suction of the dirt on her boots, the heat of the Freescape, the tug of gravity all telling her that this was the way the world was. She was just one woman amongst the multitude, how dare she think she could ignore the rules of the universe. She looked around and the moment crystallised, ingrained forever in her mind.

Her friends were down, facing impossible odds… but were still fighting. All of them. Like they were going to win, like they’d never known doubt, like they’d never felt… alone. 

Her vision blurred and suddenly it was as if she was lying inches away from Sara and Felicity and could see into their hearts. She could see what lay beneath that fierce surface and practically hear the little voice whispering in their ears.

“You’re going to lose.”

“You don’t have what it takes.”

“You were wrong to hope.”

Kara felt her body gather itself, her own heart gripped with fear but she refused to listen. Her vision snapped back to normal then the world seemed to freeze around her as she ran across the desert faster than any rider had ever dreamed of. She was a blur of movement and her blows shattered steel, tore apart titanium, devastating any that stood before her. 

Sara and Felicity lay together, firing the few rounds they had left while their free hands clasped each other close. Their death was steps away they knew… and then the world changed. The Gardners fell as piles of scrap, the Freescape itself seeming to come alive and swallow them as the world trembled in the face of a power unlike any seen in living memory. 

In the distance there was an explosion as the GCG tore itself apart but to the stunned couple lying in the dirt and destruction it was just one more note of chaos. They stared at each other in shock and looked back at Lex and Diana just as the Amazon leapt into the air, sword raised high.

“Time to face the god killer Luthor!” She cried but to her shock the blade failed to bite, scraping down the metal protecting the pilot of the huge mech as she was plucked out of the air by one enormous hand. 

“If only that were true, little amazon.” Lex said, his voice magnified by the suit to echo off the distant cliffs. There was a crackle of energy and from the palm pressed against Diana’s chest a dazzling beam burst out sending her spinning head over heals through the air, her cry of pain almost as big a shock to Sara and Felicity as how easily she’d been defeated. 

“Little alien.” Lex’s voice was mocking now as the mech scanned the horizon for the only remaining threat. “Your friends. Your hero. Your sister. Your father. They’ve all left you. You cannot face me alone. Surrender and I may let them live.”

The words hung in the air and it was as if reality itself was holding its breath. Lex turned in a slow circle, the suit hunting for any sign of danger but finding nothing. It wasn’t until he completed the turn to once again face the crumpled body of Diana that he thought to look up.

Kara launched herself at a sprint from a mountain top ten miles away and felt the world give her up. She didn’t just keep her speed… she accelerated! Flying now, truly flying for the first time and heading straight for her target. The dot on the horizon grew larger so quickly it almost surprised her but she adjusted and extended a fist, aiming for the dark purple Omega symbol etched on the cockpit of the mech.

Lex had an instant to realise his mistake before she hit. The metal shrieked, the best technology of Earth and Apokolips merged and refined over the years to be impervious to assault. The ultimate defence against any that dared stand in the way of Lex’s plans and his plans for the future of the human race. It fought back, howling as it tried to resist the dreadful force… but Sara had been right. When the storm came nothing could stand against it.

The metal cracked and shattered, the punch seared into Kara’s memory as she realised what freedom really meant. The world that she’d known, the world bent to Lex Luthor’s whim… all of it exploded in that instant. She saw the face within the mech that had watched her from billboards and screens in every memory she had. She drew a hand back, intending to wipe that face from existence and suddenly found herself grasped tightly in the Mech’s giant hand.

“Kara Kane. How you’ve grown…” Lex said, his voice robbed of its electronic enhancement. “You don’t remember but I raised you. Kept you safe. Secure from Him.”

His tone changed, became soft and charming. “It’s not too late. We could still stand astride this planet together. Your might. My Mind. Even a God may tremble at facing that.”

“No thanks.” Kara said with disdain. “How about instead I just keep punching?”

“Then I’m a disappointed father.” Lex said as Kara raised her hands, intending to bring them down in a hammer blow on the mech’s wrist. “But not an unprepared one.” A hatch popped open in the metal plating of the forearm and Kara had time to spot the giant barrel pointing at her before a sickly green beam hammered her. The hand holding her gripped tightly, keeping her in place as the ray tore at her flesh.

She felt like she was on fire, everything from her skin to her bones consumed in flames. She screamed in pain though she could’t hear the sound as her blood boiled. But her hands were still raised and as the agony embraced her she brought them down as hard as she could. The arm exploded into shrapnel, the hand releasing her as it was severed from the body. She dropped away from the green ray and the instant her feet hit the ground she hurled herself forwards, diving under the mech and ripping at its legs. Her hands crushed the metal, tore apart the connections and sent what was left crashing to the ground.

In a moment she was on top of it, one foot kicking down to sever the remaining intact arm as she grabbed the other shoulder and tore that arm away for good measure. Her fingers found the hole she’d punched in the pilot compartment and with one motion she yanked the entire panel away, hurling it into the Freescape. Her hand met flesh and Lex found himself pulled out bodily by the throat before following the pieces of his machine onto the desert floor.

Kara landed in front of him and felt a hand land on her shoulder. She jerked round, fist raised but froze as she saw Diana standing there. Hunched over, one hand clutching her ribs but standing nonetheless. 

“The war is over.” Diana said quietly. “And you stand victorious.”

Kara looked around as if coming out of a deep sleep. A dented chrom bike rolled up to them slowly, Sara being exceptionally careful as she cradled a battered Felicity in her arms. A moment later a low thrum and approaching dust cloud turned into Frost’s bike as she weaved her way between the debris of battle. Kate clung to her on the pillion seat, the Batsuit still smoking from its trial by fire. The six women gathered in front of a kneeling Luthor, his body clad in a silver and black suit of armour, his head bowed.

“This is it young blood.” Sara whispered in Kara’s ear. “This is the moment the old world dies.”

“Lex Luthor. You stand accused.” Diana said reaching down to scoop her sword from the desert floor.

“You wrecked the world to rule it.” Kate said with deathly calm.

“You took the meaning from every other life on earth and made it yours.” Sara added.

“You tried to weaponise a scared little girl to fight your war.” Kara said, her voice shaking as she finally let the truth sink in.

“You bargained with forces beyond imagining. Corrupted your soul.” Frost said with disdain. 

“And you did it all while being a total fucking prick.” Felicity finished.

“Any last words?” Diana asked coldly.

“I was right.” Lex said quietly though he still didn’t look up to meet their eyes. “Everything I did, your bloodthirsty nature proves me right. Finish my point for me.”


	9. Chapter 9

The world froze and Oliver raised a hand to point at the still figure of Lex. 

“Judgement.” The word was… odd. It had an echo to it that went beyond two voices speaking as one, as if the entire multiverse was waiting for this moment to arrive.

“What?” Kate said shocked. She’d gotten so used to their role as observers being called on to fulfil their mission came as a surprise.

“Judgement. The reason you are both here.” Oliver said and there wasn’t a hint of emotion in his voice. “You have seen what he has wrought, the choices he made and the results of them. He awaits your decision.”

“We can’t…” Kara said quietly. “How can we be unbiased with all we’ve seen? What he did to me? To Kate? To her family… to everyone.”

“Nevertheless the time is here and you must deliver your verdict.” Oliver said and Kate reached out to take Kara’s hand.

“Let me.” Kate whispered. “We both know what the answer is so let me take this one.”

Kara shook her head and squeezed Kate’s hand. “No. If we’re doing this, we do it together.”

Kate went to reply then her eyes went wide and she looked around the scene. Kara wondered what she was doing then it hit her like a lightning bolt. Kate wasn’t looking at Lex. She was looking at the women surrounding him.

“You want a judgement Spectre?” Kate asked, turning to face Oliver but keeping Kara’s hand wrapped in hers. “That seems strange. Even someone detached from humanity like you claim to be can see where the guilt lies here. Lex deserves death, there’s no doubt about it. He condemned the human race to… to this.” She gestured at the Freescape though her attention never left Oliver. “But that’s not why we’re here is it?”

“We’re here for them.” Kara said, picking up the thought from her wife with effortless ease. “This isn’t about Lex, it’s about these people here, now, hurt and angry. Sara was right, this is where the old world dies… so what comes next?” She took a couple of steps to kneel down and look at Lex’s face though she kept hold of Kate’s hand. So much pain, so much death…

“If there’s to be a new world rising from the ashes of the old it must not be built on blood.” Kara said firmly, standing again. “Let the world do what it wishes with Lex but they have done nothing to deserve the judgement that would follow if they killed him like this.”

The Spectre looked at them both for a moment then nodded and just for a moment they both thought they caught the ghost of a proud smile on the familiar face beneath the hood. Then the world jerked back into action and, once again invisible, they watched as Diana raised the sword… only to slide it back into its sheath.

“We just wrecked your entire army, Lex. I think our point’s been made.” Diana said with barely contained fury. 

“Yours doesn’t really matter anymore.” Kate added. “Go home Lex.”

“Here.” Frost threw the keys to her bike into the dirt in front of the fallen god of the Garden. “Don’t want you saying we left you to die in the desert.”

The six women turned and made their way slowly across the Freescape, each lost in their own thoughts as they headed back towards the still-smouldering shell of the Garage. Kara had an arm wrapped around Kate while Diana carried Felicity. Frost and Sara brought up the rear and Kara glanced back to look at them.

“Finding yourself is one hell of a journey.” Kate whispered, trying to process everything they’d been through.

“Especially when you lose real love along the way.” Kara agreed, turning back to give the veteran riders some privacy. Still she couldn’t help but hear them as they both paused and dropped to one knee behind the group.

“We did it Alex.” Sara said quietly, her hand tracing random patterns in the dust.

“Rest easy.” Frost added, her tears the first moisture to strike this part of the world in decades. “Lex… what was it he said Sara? In that video talking to the monster that did this for him?”

“Darkseid is.” Sara provided, her skin crawling at the words though she didn’t entirely know why.

“Right.” Frost was silent for a moment then gave a small, vicious smile. “Fuck him. He’s wrong. Life is.”

Once more the world shifted around the three watchers and they found themselves outside the imposing dome of the Garden. A battered bike pulled to a halt and Lex staggered as his feet hit the dirt. He took a moment to collect himself then marched forwards towards the impenetrable heart of his empire.

“OPEN THE GATES!” He called and found himself barely able to contain his glee as the metal barriers started to slide apart.

“My children, the time has come! Our final battle is upon us. Gardners and Gods are but toys compared to the might of the Garden! You, my people, you will be the blade that cuts down the terrorists of the Freescape!” 

He spread his arms wide in benediction as he strode under the dome. “RISE! Rise and strike down your greatest enemy!”

“You know what Lex? That’s a great idea.”

He froze, staring in disbelief at his sister. Lena stood casually in the middle of the street, her green and black armour gleaming under the red lights of the Garden. Behind her the people were gathered in mass ranks and above, from every sign and screen, a single word was written over and over again. 

Freedom.

“The riedalongs are gone, Lex. Without your forces to protect the machines it was a trivial job to turn them off. The Garden is free at last.”

The crowd stirred behind her and a rising tide of anger broke the silence. “But I think a little pruning is still needed.” Lena said coldly and stood as still as a statue while the mob rushed past her and delivered their own justice for the world that had been created in their name.


	10. Chapter 10

The sun chased the moon across the stars as two days passed in the blink of an eye. The wreckage of the Garage sat baking in the heat as the remaining riders gathered a short distance away. At the choke point where the Garden’s army had been destroyed there now stood a polished black slab six foot tall. No-one quite knew where Kara had found it but she’d spent the better part of a day flying across the Freescape searching for a suitable marker. Inscribed a third of the way down with great care by Felicity were the words: “Alex Danvers. On this spot she saved the world.”

The funeral had been long and riders from across the desert had come to pay their respects. Far more than Kara had ever suspected existed and all touched by Alex in some way. Felicity had joked, with a lump in her throat, that most had probably got at least a scar or two from being on the wrong side of a fight with her and somehow that had seemed an oddly fitting tribute to the woman they were saying goodbye to. 

As the last of the mourners left and the sound of engines faded into the distance the seven riders of the Gotham City Garage gathered around the marker. Lena was flanked by Sara and Felicity who seemingly hadn’t left her side since she’d returned from the Garden and learned what had happened. Frost and Diana were talking quietly, the younger woman seemingly being brought out of her shell a little by the Amazonian warrior. Kara and Kate were standing a little way apart, giving the others their own time to mourn for a woman they’d known far better than the Kane sisters. Kate’s hand was wrapped around Kara’s and Kara had smiled not only at the touch but what she heard with her newly-awoken senses.

“So… you wanted to talk to me when this was all over?” Kara said gently and she felt Kate stiffen and try to pull back. Kara had no intention of letting her though and waited as patient as the desert itself.

“This might not be the best time…” Kate said, clearly uncomfortable but Kara shook her head.

“No, it’s alright. If something’s that important to you I don’t want to leave it unsaid longer than we have to. Please?”

Kate sighed and nodded, clearly bracing herself. “It’s just… I’ve been thinking about you, about us a lot since I left the Garden. I know everything about you Kara, I can remember so much of our life together, how you were always there for me when I needed you…. And now I don’t know if any of it’s real!”

Kara nodded her understanding and said quietly: “I know. It scares me too.”

“Well… that’s just it…” Kate said, awkwardly. “It sucks but, at the same time there’s a part of me that… wouldn’t mind if it was all fake.” She saw the crestfallen look on Kara’s face and rushed on. “Sorry, sorry, not what I meant! Damn this made so much more sense in my head…”

Kara took a deep breath and steadied herself. “No, no go on… wherever it’s going I want to hear it.”

Kate stammered and almost lost her nerve but there was something in those blue eyes that gave her courage. “It’s just… I want you in my life Kara. I really really do. Only… maybe not as a sister.” 

There was a moment when time seemed to stand still then a small, shy but also slightly sly grin pricked Kara’s lips. “So as what then Kate?”

“Umm…” Kate went bright red and this time she couldn’t figure out a way past the stammer. Kara took pity on her and reached for her other hand. 

“Does it help at all if I said I might have been having similar thoughts?” She said quietly and almost burst out laughing at the tiny bounce of joy Kate couldn’t quite hide before she got herself under control.

“It might.” She said trying for cool and missing by a planet or two.

“So how about this for a two stage plan?” Kara asked as they drew a little closer. “Step one: we put aside anything from before you left the Garden. Clean slate… as much as we can, anyway. Get to know each other for who we really are in this… this brave new world.”

“Sounds good. What’s step two?” Kate asked, her heart beating so loudly she was sure everyone in ten miles could hear it.

“This.” Kara stepped in and kissed Kate. It was a surprisingly soft kiss, slightly hesitant from both of them as if waiting for permission not just from each other but the universe. It was also the best kiss either of them could imagine, as if they’d each found a missing part of their soul. Kate’s arms came up and wrapped around Kara, pulling her close and luxuriating in the warmth and softness of her body. Kara grinned and let her own hands fall to Kate’s waist, making sure to resist temptation - at least for now - and not just grab her ass. 

“I like this plan.” Kate breathed as they parted. “Though it could do with a little refinement.”

“Oh?” Kara said both amused and surprised by that opinion. “Like what?”

“I’ll tell you tonight.” Kate teased and they turned to start heading for their temporary home near the wreckage of the Garage.

“I’d offer drinks and a warm cot for the night but I’m afraid my roof ain’t what it used to be.” Felicity said, as she led the rest of the group away from the memorial. 

“Spoken like a woman who hasn’t slept enough under the stars.” Sara teased.

“Call me old fashioned.” Felicity fired back with a grin. “Talking of which… where you going next, legend?” She asked Diana who suddenly looked a little nervous.

“I go where I always have. Where I’m needed.” She clearly wanted to look away but managed to keep looking at the small group. “And after watching you fight I’m pretty sure that’s here.”

“Oh shove it Amazon, we fought like champions!” Sara said with a laugh.

“Keep telling yourself that.” Diana said but she joined in the laughter with what sounded like relief. “There’s so much left to do, to rebuild everything Lex destroyed…”

“We’ll do it.” Lena said and her voice had a newfound confidence. “We did this. We set the Garden free. We can do that too.”

Kara smiled to herself as she heard the conversation and wondered where, exactly, they would go next. They were almost back to what remained of the Garage now and then, suddenly, she heard something. 

“What’s that…?” She asked quietly and Kate looked confused beside her.

“What’s what?”

“That chime, don’t you hear it?”

“No but you’ve got better ears than me.”

Kara frowned and concentrated, zeroing in on the strange sound. She walked a little way into the rubble then carefully picked up a slab of metal that was bubbled and twisted out of shape. Underneath, to her shock, lay the metal tube that carried the symbol she’d taken for her own. Somehow it was untouched by the flames, as pristine as they day she’d first seen it.

“Threat matrix cleared.” Kara actually squeaked in surprise at the mechanical voice that filled the air. She glanced over her shoulder at Kate and saw confusion written on the brunette’s face… and it was then she realised the words hadn’t been heard but felt, spoken directly into her mind.

“Anti-life protection systems disengaged.” There was the faintest of clinks and a metal panel about halfway down the tube slide down, breaking the seamless surface. Underneath was a clear panel, a simple handle to open it set off to one side and beneath, sleeping soundly, was an infant boy with a shock of black hair.


	11. Chapter 11

“Stop time!” Kara ordered and almost without thinking Oliver obeyed. 

“Kara… is that…” Kate asked, staring in shock at the scene before them. Though not, it had to be said, as much shock as the younger Kara staring at the pod.

“Kal? Probably.” Kara said, her mind racing. “Oliver, if I’ve ever meant anything to you tell me the truth, now. Can you let her see me?”

“Yes.”

“Then please, please let her.” Kara begged. “She doesn’t know who she is, who he is… she’s going to need someone to help answer those questions and I might be the only person who can do that in this entire reality!”

Oliver looked like he was going to argue then paused. He studied Kara’s worried face then took in her younger counterpart. Finally he looked at the young life still sleeping after so many years but about to awaken into a world harsher than any Oliver could imagine.

“Alright. But time will still be frozen while you talk.”

“That’s fine, saves a lot of explanations.” Kara said and felt an odd, cold sensation like ice cubes sliding down the back of her suit. She saw her younger self reach out and stop in confusion as she realised the rest of the world wasn’t moving.

“Even by your standards this is likely to be weird.” Supergirl said quietly and had to stifle a laugh as the other her jumped and spun around.

“Who the hell are you and what have you done to me!”

“My friend’s kinda… taken you out of time, just for a moment!” Supergirl said making sure to keep her hands by her sides and putting on her best friendly, non-threatening smile. “I thought that this was going to be strange enough without having to explain to your friends.”

“Great, that tells me absolutely nothing!” The younger Kara said with a growl of anger.

“I know, sorry. I’m… well, I’m you. A version of you from a different reality. More or less.”

“You seriously expect me to believe that?”

“Maybe.” Supergirl shrugged. “I remember being a bit weirded out when I first heard that explanation and I’d been dealing with this a lot longer than you have.”

“Okay…” Kara took a half step back, her shoulders relaxing slightly though she still looked ready to punch a hole in the planet. “Let’s say, for one second, I believe you. What do you want?”

“To talk. Maybe to help…” Supergirl said carefully, her eyes flicking meaningfully to the frozen child in the pod behind Kara. For a moment she thought she really was going to end up fighting herself then Kara’s body seemed to sag as she let the tension drain away.

“Alright. I’ve done enough fighting for a long time. Let’s try talking…” She said, looking around. “Grab a rock.”

Supergirl laughed and did as she was told. To her surprise she could actually pick up and move things even in the frozen timeless slice that the Spectre had made for her. Or at least, she thought to herself, she could do so with something that didn’t really matter much. Better not to test that theory on anything important. They ended up face to face with the pod off to Supergirl’s right, Kara’s left.

“Well you seem to be as strong as me at least. Now what did you want to talk about?” Kara asked and she suddenly sounded exhausted.

“Two things.” Supergirl pointed at her doppelgänger. “You.” She moved her finger to the pod. “And him.”

“You’re out of luck. I’ve no idea about either.”

“I know. And that’s what I wanted to talk about.”

“Huh?” Kara looked thoroughly confused and Supergirl chuckled to herself.

“Sorry, this isn’t making much sense is it? Look I don’t know where you came from or why… but I do know how I came to be on this planet. In my reality, I mean. I’ve also had a little experience with other, uh, versions of me and every one of them has had a similar history. I’d say it’s more likely than not there’s at least some crossover. If you want to hear it I’m happy to tell you.”

“I’d… I’d like that.” Kara said quietly.

“You’re Kryptonian, Diana already told you that I know but thought it might help to link things up. Assuming everything lines up your parents were Alura and Zor-El and you were loved, Kara.” Supergirl gently reached out and squeezed Kara’s hand. “If you don’t believe anything else, believe that.”

Kara felt tears welling up and nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Something about what this stranger who wore her face was saying seemed to call to her, beckon like a light in the darkness.

“When I was twelve the planet… the planet died. Tore itself apart. In their arrogance those that could have helped our people did nothing until it was far, far too late. My father and his brother knew the truth and built two escape pods. They could only carry one person each but it was all they could do in the time they had. In the last moments of Krypton’s existence my parents got me into my pod and sent me here.” Supergirl looked around the desert stretching out on every side. “Well, my version of here, anyway.”

“They sent you away? Alone? Why…” Kara stuttered into silence, not quite able to understand. “If it was me… I think I’d rather have died with them.”

Supergirl sighed and shook her head. “We really are very alike Kara. You’re right, I didn’t want to go. But I wasn’t leaving to save myself. I was leaving to protect my cousin.”

Kara’s eyes went wide and she looked over at the pod lying to one side. “The second pod?”

“Was for my uncle Jor’s infant son. I was supposed to be his guardian here, to protect him and help him adapt to this strange new planet we would find ourselves on.”

“Supposed to?”

Supergirl winced. She’d wondered if this other version of her would pick up on that and supposed she should have known better than to doubt. “I… took a bit of a detour. My pod was caught in the explosion of the planet and I ended up stuck in suspended animation for a few decades. By the time I arrived he’d grown up. Actually he ended up being the first person I saw when I got out of the pod.”

“That… had to suck.”

“Wasn’t great.” Supergirl confirmed. “Might have explained why I punched him out a few years back now that I think about it.”

“You… punched him out? Why?”

“He was mind controlled and trying to do the same to me. It happens.”

“In your world that just happens?”

“Uh, yeah. Now that you mention it I can see how that would be considered odd….”

Kara stared at Supergirl for a long moment then burst out laughing. “Okay, you’re me, no-one else I know could wait that long in that conversation before realising that.” She wrapped her arms around her sides and winced as the laughter kept coming. “Ohh that… it’s been too long, not used to using those muscles.”

“Maybe that should change.” Supergirl said kindly.

“Maybe it should.” Kara agreed before looking again at the pod. “What’s his name?”

‘Here? I don’t know. But in my world he’s called Kal. Kal-El.”

“El? Like your father?”

“It’s our family name.” Supergirl explained. “The rules on naming were a bit.. complicated but Krypton had its ancient families and houses, much as most places do. Your name was… is… Kara Zor-El. The last daughter of Krypton. We belong to the house of El and this…” she tapped the shield on her chest to illustrate the point. “This is our family crest.”

Kara suddenly looked expectant as she asked her next question. “Does it… does it mean anything? Stand for anything?”

“Depends who you ask. There’s been a few versions over the years but the most common one in our language is El Mayarah. In English it translates to Stronger Together. But I’ve heard it said it also stands for Hope.”

Kara’s eyes lit up - though not literally to Supergirl’s relief - and she stared wide-eyed at her odd visitor. “I.. I heard that word. In my head. The first night I was at the bar. It’s why I put that symbol on my jacket.”

“It was probably the pod’s telepathic circuit.” Supergirl said as if that was any sort of explanation. “It recognised you, if not as Kara then at least as a Kryptonian and identified itself.”

“That’s pretty wild…”

“It is.” Supergirl agreed. “But it also means you’ve got something in common with me.”

“Beyond a winning smile and killer hair?” Kara asked with a shy grin. 

“Yes, which reminds me, you’re going to need to work on your heat vision.”

“My… why?”

“Because it’s that or trip over your own hair. It’s just about as invulnerable as the rest of you now you’re out from under the red sun of the Garden. Heat vision’s the only way to cut it. Get a mirror and practice like hell.”

“Good to know.” Kara said weakly. “So go on, what have we got in common?”

“Hmm? Oh, we both chose to put this on and fight rather than hide away.”

“You… fight?” Kara asked realising, a little belatedly, that the super-suit and cape probably wasn’t normal daily wear on any Earth.

“Every single day.” Supergirl said confidently. “And sometimes it sucks beyond the telling of it. But it’s worth it, Kara. It’s always worth it.”

“How… how do you do it?” Kara asked and her voice was little more than a whisper. “How do you go on when the fight seems impossible?”

“That one’s easy.” Supergirl said. “And you already know the answer. When you were fighting Lex you knew you weren’t just fighting for yourself. You weren’t even fighting for them.” She swept her hand over the frozen figures running towards the pod. “You don’t save the world for yourself or even those you love, though it’s great motivation. You save the world for what’s next. For the people who can’t fight and for those who will make the world better someday. You fight to give them that chance.”

Supergirl smiled softly and on impulse pulled her younger self into a hug. “We can watch over them, Kara. We can help them, protect them… but we can’t change the world. Not alone. That’s something we all do together.”

“Even when the change is this big.” Kara said and her voice was muffled against Kara’s shoulder.

“Even when it’s this big.” Kara confirmed. “Where I come from… this is a beautiful planet. Lush and green, life thriving in every last corner. This world must have been like that once, and not that long ago either. With you and your sisters leading the way it can be so again.”

“I hope so.” Kara said, giving Supergirl one last squeeze then letting go. 

“I know so.” Supergirl replied gently, getting to her feet.

“Hey, wait, there’s so much…”

“I know but I’m not an oracle, Kara. I don’t know what happens next. Or what happened in the past, come to that. What I’ve told you… it’s my story. Yours will be different.”

“I know.” Kara smiled and the world seemed to become lighter. “But if it’s okay with you I’m keeping it anyway. Whatever’s in my head now is so messed up it’s useless anyway. Whether what you told me is true here or not it’s a hell of a lot better than what I’ve got.”

“It’s fine with me.” Supergirl laughed. “On one condition.”

“Anything.”

“What happened here… it shouldn’t be forgotten.” Supergirl said grimly. “When you have time, in the evenings when you’re working things out with Kate and the fire’s burning low and there’s nothing else to do… write it down. Write the story down and spread the word. Teach Kal how to live free. Teach the world. And make sure they remember the women who taught them how.”

“I will.” Kara promised and now the tears did fall. “We will.”

“Thank you Kara.” Supergirl said and turned to leave.

“Wait!” Kara cried and was relieved to see Supergirl pause. “What you just said, about Kate… what do you mean by ‘working things out’?”

Oh boy, Supergirl thought, how much of that do I dare touch… 

“Just that… that you two will likely find that a lot more complicated… and probably fun… than you think right now.” Supergirl said.

“Well that’s annoyingly cryptic.”

“It’s supposed to be.”

“Is there a Kate Kane in your world?” Kara asked.

“Yeah.” Supergirl grinned though as she had her back to Kara the younger woman couldn’t see it. “She’s brave, brilliant, a colossal pain in the arse and annoyingly right most of the time.”

“Sounds familiar.” Kara said wryly. “And… and what do you… I mean, how do you…”

Supergirl sighed. The hell with it, she thought, some things just can’t be avoided and they were ninety percent of the way down that road anyway. What could it hurt?

“What sort of relationship do we have?” Supergirl asked, wanting to make sure she was right about what was bothering her younger self.

“Yeah. That.” Kara admitted sheepishly. To her surprise Supergirl turned slightly so Kara could see the predatory grin on her face as she answered.

“I married her.” Supergirl said and then she was gone. Time flooded back and Kara turned to free the boy - Kal - from the pod. Her friends, her sisters arrived with a thousand questions a moment later but she ignored them for a moment as she reached for Kate’s hand. The warmth and smoothness of her skin felt like an anchor after the strange conversation and she was suddenly very glad that she’d asked that last question. Married her… well, there was time enough left in the world for a great many possibilities.

****

“Just for the record, I married you.” Kate said to Supergirl as they once again stood apart from reality, watching the odd reunion below them.

“Keep telling yourself that honey.’ Kara said, noticing how close her doppelgänger was standing to the other Kate, Kal securely cradled in one arm.

“And what’s this ‘annoyingly right’ stuff?”

“Well you do tend to be.”

“I’m right most of the time, yeah, but annoyingly so?”

“It can be.” Kara said with a smile. “Of course it usually saves my life so I’d say we’re even.”

“Oh. Oh no, you’re not getting off that easy!”

“I know. And I’ve no doubt you’ll make me pay for it later.” Kara said warmly. “Right now though I think we’re just about done, right Ollie?”

“We were once Lex returned to the Garden.” Oliver pointed out.

“So why did you let us watch the epilogue?” Kate asked with casual innocence.

“Because I didn’t want to argue about it.”

“Hey, he *can* be taught after all!” Kate said to Kara who snickered despite her best intentions. 

“Did it… did we do it?” Kara asked quietly, eyes fixed on the two Kryptonians below. The future she’d once thought waited for her… well, life was never quite what you expected was it?

“The judgement was sound, this reality is balanced.” Oliver said, his voice momentarily taking on the odd echo it seemed to pick up when dealing with cosmic matters. “And while the future is never set they have a reasonable chance of fixing this world.”

“I’m glad.” Kara said. “They deserve that chance.”

“Yeah, between Lex and Darkseid they never stood a chance.” Kate said, wrapping a comforting arm around her wife. “Now… well, I wouldn’t bet against that bunch for anything, no matter who they were facing.”

“No, they do seem rather… formidable.” Kara said with a smile. “Okay, let’s get….” She hesitated and looked down again.

“You okay?” Kate asked.

“I.. yeah, sorry. Just… it’s not been easy, seeing all this.”

Kate considered for a moment then looked over at Oliver. “You said this judgement gig was urgent but a bit flexible, right?”

“Well, actually…”

“Right?”

‘Uh… mostly, yes.” Ollie admitted slightly sulkily.

“Okay. So wherever you’re taking us next… can you find us a nice quiet cafe somewhere and a little time before we have to dive back in? I think we could both use a time out.”

“Would you like a set menu?” Oliver asked sarcastically but as always that just bounced straight off Kate’s in-built snark.

“No, but a bushel of strawberries, whipped cream, chocolate sauce and a nice private room to eat them off my wife’s perfect body as messily as possible would be fantastic, thanks for asking.”

“I… uh….”

“Maybe just the cafe?” Kara suggested, taking pity on her friend. Though if he wanted to provide the other part she wouldn’t exactly object…

“One cafe coming up!” Ollie said gratefully and the world spun away, the Freescape swirling to a spot far, far below them before being swallowed by a curtain of stars as they shot through the myriad possibilities of the multiverse towards their next reality.

**Author's Note:**

> So... two weeks ago I had in my head that this would be a three part story with the last part being, oh, 12 to 15 thousand words or so. 35 thousand words and some serious RSI later...
> 
> This was an absolute joy to write, hope you've all enjoyed this particular corner of the multiverse. Not going to lie, got a little emotional when doing a couple of bits of this one. In terms of what's coming up next week is almost definitely going to be... shall we say an intermission? Same series but visiting someone else for what is *supposed* to be a one-shot story. A very, very filthy one-shot story so, well, you've been warned! 
> 
> After that we get to the next elseworlds-type story and the plan is to mix things up a bit. Don't want to say too much (it's not written yet after all! Also spoilers) but there's going to hopefully be a bit of a change in how 'our' Kate and Kara fit into that particular story. Otherwise this is gonna get a bit long-winded as a series.


End file.
